https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/h415pf83g
A comment on Total Gym's production history:
I worked in the factory that produced the very first runs of the Total gym ..made by WEST BEND CANADA in Barrie Ontario...Steve Podborski was the first endorsment guy.. i met him at the plant. ...In the 1980s West Bend Company acquired Total Gym.
TG licensed their design to a company in Pennsylvania who started making the 1000, 2000, and 3000 infomercial models. Simultaneously, EFI (the parent TG company) made the 1100 and 2200 models for home and commercial use (respectively). I believe this caused confusion at some point because EFI on their website had a disclaimer they had nothing to do with the infomercial units, and would redirect infomercial unit owners who had issues to a phone number somewhere else.
My assumption is around 2000-2002, EFI did a model refresh and, probably to preserve branding since there were numerous cheap ones being produced by the licensed companies at this point, named the new units 14000 and 26000 to distinguish themselves from the XX00 licensed models being sold at WalMart, Costco, Sears, etc.
the cheaper you go the cheaper the Material that it was made with. My Total gym is made out of aluminum and plastic. The higher models are made out of Steel.
These EFI models are directly descended from the 1100 and 2200 models (again, respectively). Also worth noting, many of the parts and attachments are interchangeable between the 14000 and 26000 (and for that matter, the GTS line). Personally, I started on a 1000 model and burned through 3 or 4 crappy Chinese WalMart models before I found a 14000 on craigslist in '09-10. It's the best machine I've ever owned and compared to the cheap infomercial models (including the supposed top of the line XL model), it's not even close. I'm such a believer in the 14000, today I drove 80 miles to buy a spare one for parts and accessories I didn't already own.
I bought a Total Gym in 1999 or 2000, (the model then labeled TG 1100, later 11000), NOT the infomercial model. It was a sturdy and very heavy duty piece of equipment. The key factor that convinced me to buy it was Chuck Norris. I know that celebrities are paid to endorse products that they don't necessarily use, but I believed that Chuck Norris was a man of integrity. When he said he had been using Total Gym for 20 years (back in 1997),
Dr. Ben grew up in New York, where he became an award-winning athlete in high school and college. His involvement in athletics inspired him to pursue a career in exercise science. He graduated in 1971 from Ithaca College with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, health, and science. Dr. Ben went on to earn a master’s degree in exercise sciences from Florida Atlantic University, a doctorate in exercise physiology from North American University, and a doctorate in health services, with a specialization in physical exercise, from Walden University. He also completed a post-doctoral program at Columbia University in body composition analysis and weight management.
he served as the training program developer for Total Gym.™
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